2 Nov 2016

The Day In Parliament for 2 November 2016 - morning edition

From In Parliament, 5:45 am on 2 November 2016

Request for a snap debate on the sale of Solid Energy's mines is declined by the Speaker, David Carter. Steven Joyce, answering questions for Todd McLay, rejects claim from Labour's David Parker that Solid Energy was crippled by excessive debt.House passes eight bills coming out of a bill changing "medical practitioner" to "health practitioner". But the next bill on the order paper, allowing police to charge for vetting services, divides the House on its third reading with Labour, the Greens and New Zealand First maintaining their opposition, their 56 votes defeated by the 63 of National, ACT, United Future and the Maori Party. Police Minister, Judith Collins, questioned about Police conducting roadside breath-screening tests "with the intention of collecting personal information for investigations unrelated to road safety". The minister declines to comment on the incident involving Police stopping members of a euthanasia advocacy group. The prime minister, John Key, confirms that he retains confidence in his Police Minister when asked by Opposition leader, Andrew Little, about a reported 5.5% rise in crime in the last year. Members observe a minute's silence in memory of former Labour MP, Reg Boorman, who died on Sunday at the age of 81. He was the MP for Wairarapa from 1984 to 1987. The House agrees with a Greens motion welcoming the UN First Committee resolution calling for negotiations on a legally-binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons.